Editor's note: In coming weeks, the Wayne Herald will be featuring the teachers who are in their first year with the Wayne Community Schools.
After working for the Wayne Public Schools as a paraprofessional, Jessica Loberg now teaches first grade at the Wayne Early Learning Center.
“I was a para here for about nine years, and then I decided I was ready to go back, so I went back to Wayne State about 2022,” Loberg said. “It took me three years to get my elementary education endorsement, I finished in 2025 in May, and here we are.”
While teaching was not how she started out, Loberg said she is excited to keep growing as an educator while supporting and advocating for her students.
“When I was hired on as a paraprofessional, I had no plans to go on to be a teacher,” Loberg said. “But when you are here, you absolutely become invested in the students and the teachers because it is such an awesome school district.”
In her transition from paraprofessional to homeroom teacher, Loberg said she was thankful for the support and incredibly grateful for this new opportunity.
“The support is incredible,” Loberg said. “What I've received as a first-year teacher from my colleagues, the administration, the families that I'm teaching their children, the support has absolutely been incredible because they want to see me succeed and do well and so do I.”
While she says she still has a lot to learn about teaching, she knows what she wants to pass on to her students.
“I want my kids to walk in here and know that they are loved and supported and heard in this room,” Loberg said. “From day one, I have told them, ‘No, we're not going to stress in here. This is a happy place to learn.’”
Loberg’s husband farms near Carroll, and her three kids attend school in Wayne.
Originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota and now living in Laurel, Spaans said she is excited for the change.
“I went to SDSU in Brookings and got my bachelor's degree in psychology, and then my master's, I went to USD in Vermilion and got my degree in addiction counseling,” Spaans said. “I'm going back to Wayne State now for school counseling.”
Spaans also said she was excited to just be here.
“I think the people here are very nice and friendly and it's obviously different from living in Sioux Falls, but I've definitely gotten used to it,” Spaans said. “It's not hard to do when, like I said, people are so nice around here.”
Outside of school, she enjoys reading, golfing and watching football.
“I'm a huge Notre Dame fan, so I watch a lot of college football,” Spaans said. “I like watching the Huskers volleyball too.”
Inside of school, a message she said she wants to pass to the students she works with is to be kind.
“That's my thing,” Spaans said. “Be kind and true to yourself.”
In keeping with this, she said one of her goals this year is to not be too hard on herself as she balances the difficulties of going back and forth between buildings, but to also do her best to communicate well and to be open in connecting with students and parents.
“I am excited to get to know the kids and honestly, just watch them grow,” Spaans said.
